FROM CNN’s Jack Cafferty:

More than a million homes in the U-S are now in foreclosure, a staggering figure that shows how hard the economy is hitting millions of Americans.

A report by the Mortgage Bankers Association shows the rate of both home foreclosures and late payments set records in the first quarter of this year, the highest in nearly 30 years. And, it’s only expected to get worse. The group says the slump in housing prices was the biggest factor for more foreclosures and late payments. And, there will likely be more in the months to come since home prices are expected to keep dropping.

Some states are especially hard hit: California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona accounted for 89% of the increase in new home foreclosures. These are states where the prices dropped sharply and there was too much supply due to a lot of construction.

Many homes in Michigan and Ohio have also been foreclosed. In those states, it’s because of rising job losses, especially in the automotive sector.

Around the country, the housing market meltdown and ensuing credit crisis have helped push the economy to the brink of a recession – if we aren’t there already. Consumers and businesses are spending less, and employers have cut more than a quarter-million jobs in the first four months of this year. Investor Warren Buffet says the recession has already started and will be longer and deeper than anyone expects.

Here’s my question to you: What does it mean when more than a million homes are now in foreclosure?

Interested to know which ones made it on air?

Radiance from Spring, Texas writes:

The American Dream is slipping away. If something does not change, we will be a country of the very rich few and the very poor many, like India. Wouldn’t that be exciting? Actually, despite denials, we are invested in each

Ray from Nashville writes:

It means that somewhere along the line, people have forgotten how to say no, or more importantly, have forgotten about their obligation to say no. Lenders should have said no to people who they knew could not afford the payments on these trick mortgages once the real payment kicked in. Borrowers should have say no to these same trick mortgages that offered initial low rates, but were sure to go up in the near future.

Rick writes:

It means maybe, maybe, Washington will begin to realize just how much the American people are hurting. From the mortgage crisis to gas prices, our leaders still have their blinders on. At some point, they’ll have to stop paying lip service to these problems and actually start addressing them. We can only hope.

Jorge from Lancaster, California writes:

It means responsible people who read the terms and conditions of their mortgage, borrowed within their means, had excellent credit and put a sizable down payment in order to build up equity are seeing the value of their greatest asset and family institution go down the drain through no fault of their own.

Linda writes:

People can’t afford gas to get to work or look for work, high unemployment rates, high cost of health care to name a few. How can one make a mortgage payment when they can’t even afford a few gallons of gas?

Rick from West Hollywood, Calif. writes:

1 million homes in foreclosure and a recession “longer and deeper” than anyone realizes mean one thing: George Bush and the GOP’s chickens are coming home to roost. And we are the newspaper lining the chicken coop floor.

caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2008/06/05/more-than-a-million-homes-in-foreclosure/